Child transport companies would register and follow safety rules

Companies would register with the state each year, pay a fee, and provide business and vehicle information. This would apply to private businesses and nonprofits that specialize in transporting children. It would not apply to public employees transporting children as part of their official duties. The state health department would set the fee and could request more information to protect children and prevent human trafficking. The department would publish a list of registered companies and update it at least once each quarter. Companies would register annually, and the state would update its public list at least once each quarter.

Companies would notify the state health department before covered trips, and the department would keep the notices and provide access in specified cases. This would apply when a covered company planned to bring a child to a location in Montana or transport a child through the state. The notice would include the child’s name, age, and birth date; the parent’s or guardian’s name and contact information; company and employee names; and pickup and drop-off locations. The department could require more information to protect the child and prevent human trafficking. The department would give the Department of Justice access to investigate and prosecute human trafficking cases. A person who was transported could access their own transport record. Notice would be due at least 48 hours before the transport. The department would keep each notice for at least 10 years.

Companies would tell children the company and employee names, and could not restrain or block a child’s vision or pick the child up between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. These rules would apply to private businesses and nonprofits that specialize in transporting children, not public employees transporting children as part of their official duties. A restraint could include limiting a child’s arm, leg, or head movement. A drug would count as a chemical restraint if it was used to control behavior or limit movement and was not standard treatment for the child’s medical or psychiatric condition. Blocking vision could include using a hood or blindfold. The pickup restriction would apply between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m.